As a NZ Young Adult fiction, Orman’s attention to detail sets the scene and makes it evident she has done her research. Ordinary conversations are just that, ordinary, and that’s what makes this story believable. Educational? Definitely. I learned about ecology, mining in the West Coast, and how an eco-warrior protest group might try to prevent the establishment of another opencast coalmine. The smooth insertion of facts from the region’s history felt natural as we learned at newcomer, 16-year-old Skye’s, pace. Skye’s emotions are honest and real. Josh’s are raw and true. These kids and their attitudes made me smile. Close attention to their personal details helps get the reader into the characters’ minds quickly. So these two teenage cousins meet for the first time, having recently found family neither knew existed. To unravel the newer secrets, Skye and Josh first have to unravel the old. And this is where Granddad comes in. But what is the real truth? All they discover is that things are not as they might think they are. It takes the old Granddad to bring life’s lessons into perspective. Skye finally finds what she thought she wanted so badly, only to see it too was shrouded in more lies. Although the story didn’t end as I expected, it was still a satisfactory ending. Having said that, I still felt the ending drama fizzled out sooner than it needed to. Minor bloopers and irregularities are more noticeable in the second-half of this work but they don’t affect the pleasure of the read. For both Y/A and older, it is an intriguing historical read. This work makes learning fun, and believable. As a history lesson, it is well written, well-paced, and well-plotted. Having read Jenny Pattrick’s ‘Denniston Rose’, I felt completely at home with Orman’s settings and smells. Well done, Lorraine Orman!

Leave a Reply.

FlaxFlower Reviews

Reviews on this page are of New Zealand books – that is, written by Kiwi authors.They are written by independent reviewers not known to the authors.

Join our posting listIf you'd like to receive an email when a new book review is posted, please respond via the CONTACT function above.

If you are a Kiwi author and would like your book reviewed send an email via this site and you’ll be sent further details. Give details of genre, length, short synopsis, and formats available – print, ebook (Kindle, Kobo etc). You will need to provide one book free to the reviewer.

If you’d like to be a reviewer send an email via this site giving details of your experience/expertise what genres interest you, and the formats you will consider – print, ebook (Kindle, Kobo etc). If possible, include a URL of one of your published reviews. Offer only if you take the task seriously and are certain you will deliver the review. Reviewers from countries other than New Zealand are welcome to apply.